Here's How to Learn Catalan

Catalan language is one of the most complete and perfect expressions that I know from the point of view regarding language ...Jose Maria Aznar

Catalan is misunderstood as simply being a dialect of Spanish.  However, it must be noted that Catalan is considered to be a language on its own. Catalan is actually known as a Romance language that evolved from Latin sharing roots with other languages such as French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. If you choose to visit Catalonia, you would be doing yourself a favour if you choose to learn a language like Catalan.

The best part of Catalan is that if you learn the language, you will find many words that are closely related to both the Spanish and the French language. If you are, however, not considering learning Catalan since you already know French or Spanish, rethink your decision.

Many Catalan words are closely related to Spanish and French; however, the pronunciation of Catalan words is rather different.

If you are not motivated enough to learn Catalan, remember that Catalan is the official language of many regions. In fact, people not only from Catalonia choose to speak the Catalan language. Do you want to visit Spain? Well, Catalan will surely help you to communicate on your trip.

If you have been considering learning Catalan, here are some ways that you can go about doing so.

How to Learn Catalan

Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world. Rumi

If you are serious about learning how to speak the Catalan language, a great idea would be to change your perspective on not only the language but the culture of the people who speak Catalan. It is best to take foreign language classes in the place where the foreign language is being spoken.

Do you remember the Netflix show, Emily in Paris? Well, the fictional character, Emily, travelled all the way to Paris to learn how to speak French. Just like Emily, you will get an authentic language learning experience if you learn Catalan in Catalonia where the language is predominantly spoken.

There are many benefits of taking lessons in the place where the language is predominantly spoken. For one, you learn the pronunciation of words in the exact way that the words get pronounced by native Catalan speakers with the right accent too. Learning the language from a person who speaks Catalan as their mother tongue language is a slightly different experience than grasping the language from someone who has also learnt the language as a second or third language.

To each his own but depending on the type of learning experience that you would like to gain, consider both options of learning Catalan in Catalonia, and learning the language in your own hometown in South Africa before you make your decision of where to learn the language.

When you stay overseas in Catalonia, the advantage is that you will easily be able to immerse yourself in the culture and language spoken by the locals. In Catalonia, you are bound to speak this new language far more often, being able to speak Catalan during your language learning class, and to a native Catalan speaking teacher.

The thing is that a whole new experience awaits you when you choose to spend time in a foreign country where you can be surrounded by the vocabulary of the locals.

The beauty part is that you can be just as proficient in the Catalan language if you stay in Catalonia or Italy. Catalan is also spoken in Italy and the romance language is very closely link to Italian as well. In fact, you will find Catalan language schools in both Barcelona and Girona.

Are you ready to live in Catalonia, Italy or Barcelona?

If Catalan is part and parcel of your working environment, you will also be able to grasp the language faster as you will hear the language being spoken every day and conjugating the verbs and learning the grammatical rules will become second nature to you.

Catalan Language Resources

If you cannot venture to Catalonia, you can learn Catalan from the comfort of your home. Is this a language learning journey that you are ready to take?

Your best Catalan language resource would be to depend on a private Catalan Superprof tutor.

A Catalan tutor in South Africa is easy to find provided you establish set criteria to determine what you are looking for. You can search for a tutor based on the:

• The tutor's hourly rate
• The tutor’s level of experience
• The level of the language being taught
• The tutor’s language proficiency

Other resources that you can rely on to learn the Catalan language include learning Catalan with various apps and free online resources.  You can rely on the free Catalan phrasebook to get you started.

For more modern learning consider using a language learning app to learn the Catalan language. A simple search of Catalan would yield many language learning apps that you can utilise to get started on your language learning journey.

If you are struggling to find apps that are reputable, consider the language learning app called Duolingo. Alternatively, 5 other apps for learning Catalan are:

• 50 languages
• Learn bots
• Vocabulary Trainer
• Lets Limited
• Learn Catalan

Soon you too will be greeting every morning with the words, "Bon dia."

Find out more about the Catalan language if you are eager to learn it.

Benefits When You Take a Catalan Course

Learning Catalan with an app is a great idea, but you will gain many benefits should you learn the language by taking a Catalan course with a Catalan tutor of your choice.

If you've decided that you're going to learn Catalan, having a private tutor is surely beneficial. A private tutor will teach you the language at your own pace.

You can make sure that you find a private tutor with whom you get along with as you will be spending the bulk of your time with this tutor. You can never learn to speak the language overnight; you must be sure to gel well with your private Catalan tutor so that you will enjoy your lessons all the more.

While face-to-face tutorials are always a great option when you are learning a new language from scratch, you can also opt for online or group tutorials. Again, there are several benefits to taking either face-to-face tutorials or online tutorials as your private tutor will ensure that they spend every minute tailoring lessons so that you find it easier to learn the language.

While tailored lessons are an option available at your disposal, group tutorials are another option that you have. In fact, group tutorials work out cheaper per hour. This is because every student shares a portion of the cost for the tutor's time. In these tutorials, however, your tutor will have several other students to worry about and can't specifically tailor the learning to suit you. The benefit of taking group tutorials is that you are exposed to other enthusiastic language learners. Having friends attempting to learn the same language as you is great as you can all have conversations to better your ability to speak the language after class and on weekends when you meet up.

Discover the history of this fascinating language.

What Can You Expect from Catalan Language Lessons

From Catalan language lessons, you can expect to get your money's worth as you will learn more about the culture and traditions of people who speak the Catalan language.

Since you are learning more about the culture of people who speak Catalan, it becomes essential to find out where Catalan is spoken. Aside from learning more about the structure of the Catalan language, you will also learn essential Catalan vocabulary.

Essential Catalan Vocabulary

First things first, let's start with learning some basic Catalan vocabulary. If you don't end up taking a Catalan class right away then these words and phrases would surely come in handy should you take a trip to Catalonia or Barcelona.

Perhaps the best motivation to get you to take those Catalan language classes is to visit Catalonia and Barcelona on holiday. This way, you can pick up on whether the language is for you or not.

Consider learning these phrases so that you will be able to at least meet the minimum communication requirements when speaking to other Catalan speakers.

• How are you? Com va tot? / Com va això? / Com estàs?
• Fine, and you?: Molt bé, i tu?
• What’s your name?: Com et dius?
• My name is [...]: Em dic [...]
• Nice to meet you: Molt de gust
• Please: Si us play
• Thank you very much: Moltes gràcies
• You’re welcome: De res
• Yes: Si
• No: no
• Excuse me: Perdó
• I’m sorry: Em sap greu
• Help!: Ajuda!
• See you soon: Fins aviat
• Goodbye: Adeu

Say, "Si" to learning Catalan and perhaps you will enjoy learning the language more than you could ever imagine!